


Kindness is Fleeting

by CrappyWriterFailing



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games)
Genre: Child Abuse, Dromund Kaas, F/M, Gen, M/M, No Beta, Slavery, Tatooine, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 06:12:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19458025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrappyWriterFailing/pseuds/CrappyWriterFailing
Summary: Compassion is eternal.Canon divergent Sith Inquisitor from birth to death.





	1. Chapter 1

"Mama! Look what I can do!" I yelled happily, running toward her open arms. We lived on Tatooine, and even as I ran that short while, I felt the sun beaming onto my back, the hot aim scorching my throat. Not that I minded, so caught up in my excitement that I didn't even notice those normal discomforts.

My mother always had time for me. White hair reflecting the sunlight, scattering the rays across the desert, her chocolate brown eyes as warm as the sand beneath my feet. Her skin tanned dark by years of the suns rays but never looking unhealthy like many others started to look after years on the planet. Every whim of mine was indulged by my mother, so long as she had the time. This was one of those times, as she sat me down on her lap once I jumped into her arms and looked at me with a smile. I felt a gentle finger poke my nose, "What is it, my beautiful boy?"

"Only beautiful because of how he takes after his mother." I heard my father rumble from the house.

Unlike my mother, the years of the sun hadn't treated him well. He was a hulking figure, one of the largest people I had ever seen. Several times now, my father had to get treated from some illness given to him by the rays radiation. His skin was blotched, spotted and unhealthy, every day looking more painful. I nearly cried every time I saw him walk off to the moisture farm, but knew better. Laugh as much as you want, but on Tatooine, you don't cry. My mother would say to me in the softest reprimand, you're wasting the water your father and I work so hard to get, beautiful boy. Dry those tears.

Not that I was paying any attention to my father, instead I raised my hands to show my mother what was contained within. A simple rock, sitting between the palms of both my hands.

Until it wasn't a simple rock anymore.

It floated, only slightly off my palms, the sight bringing energy to sing through me. I'd never felt more energized in my short life. It was almost like that one time I had a full jug of water on my birthday!

I heard my mother gasp.

I looked up and expected to see her smile, her warm eyes sharing my joy. Instead, I was met with those tears she told me we should never produce. Her hands slammed down, forcing my palms back together painfully. Tears of surprised pain flooded to my eyes, but I blinked them back and tried to control the wobble of my lip. My mother looked almost angry, it was a sight I had never seen before. Her voice pitched low, there was an urgency there I had never heard before. I'd never felt so panicked in my short life. My mother was mad at me, she was always happy but now she was looking at me like that -

"You mustn't ever show your father that!" She hissed out, her hands still keeping mine closed.

I couldn't restrain the tears any longer, "Mama..."

I saw her eyes soften slightly, her grip on my hands slackened, "My beautiful boy... What you showed me was both amazing, and the worst thing you could have done to your father and I. Forget it ever happened! It will only bring us unhappiness. In this world, people with those powers lack something vital. I don't want to lose my boy to those types of people. They lack that compassion I see in you every time I see those eyes of yours. I never want you to lose that. Please, beautiful boy, forget it ever happened. I only want you safe and happy."

I felt my mothers arms envelop me.

At that moment, I had no intention of ever using that power again.

* * *

I was five when I first understood what the power I had once shown was. Never once had I used it again, but I thought about it a lot. The way that it felt, how naturally the energy ran through my body - one of the boy's in town was talking about Jedi and Sith. The idea that these two groups fought one another using a mystical power called The Force. Only, the boy swore it was a true story, and others confirmed the story with nods, rather than scoffs. So people were running around using this Force to accomplish great things. I knew at that moment what my mysterious power was - It was the only word that could properly explain the feeling of energy rushing through me.

Energy just wasn't the right word. It felt more like a Force of power.

Knowing what it was I needed to ignore made it easier.

I went home that day lighter than I'd felt since my mother first told me what she wanted from me.

That lightness disappeared upon the sight that I was greeted with. Our house looked horrible. Torn apart, things were thrown around the room, plates broke, jars of precious water scattered into puddles and ceramic shards. In the middle of the room was my mother, her face twisted in pain. Her gleaming white hair streaked with blood held up by darkened, battle-worn fingers. Those fingers lead up to a hulking man, larger than even my father. He didn't look human - My mother had told me of different species, and I'd seen some Twilik, but this was something else entirely. He wore scratched armour, painted with a symbol I barely recognized. My mother always told me to run away if I ever saw someone with that symbol.

My shock had struck me so hard I couldn't say a word, I stood there.

My mother didn't notice me, she glared up at the man blooding her hair, "I don't know where he is, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

" I think you misunderstand your situation, bitch. You're going to tell me where that pussy of your husband is, or you are going to pay off his debt in labour." The husky, breaking voice of the man spoke.

My mother shrunk back in fear, but immediately after her eyes sparked back to life. I had no idea what the word labour meant, but it must have been horrible if it got my mother to react like that.

"Mama...: I whispered, wanting to comfort her.

She turned toward me, and I was immediately teleported back to the day I showed her that power. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me, a feeling that she explained to me afterwards as worry filling them. Immediately, her stilled body struggled against the man holding her. I could see her hair ripping as she attempted to pull herself away from the fist. Blood dripped down her neck as her mouth opened, "RUN! GO BACK TO TOWN XEPNA!"

Before I could react, the man slammed a heavy hand onto my mothers head. She fell down, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. The lumbering man ignored her crumpled body, pushing it to the side as he thundered toward me. I was too shocked to do anything as he gripped my wrists together so hard that it hurt. Bruising forming almost immediately. No squirming on my part got the man to let go, no yelling on my part seemed to get through to him. I wondered if I was even saying words as I babbled, unable to understand what was happening. I was thrown on top of my mother's body. Not knowing what else to do, I curled up next to her. The man was still glaring down at me, his beady eyes drilling into mine. I closed my eyes and held onto my mother.

This had to be a nightmare.

I felt a familiar, gentle hand stroking my back, my sobs started to clear up.

"My beautiful brave boy..."' I heard my mother whisper, no sign of her worry, as she just held me. Neither of us moving from our place on the floor.

"I'm home wife!"

I heard my fathers joyous voice proclaim from outside the house. The door opened. I felt something ZANG through the air, and something fell to the floor with a heavy plop. I didn't dare open my eyes, my mother held me tighter. I could feel wet dripping onto my forehead. Whether it was those forbidden tears, of the crimson fluid my mother was leaking, I didn't know. It didn't matter. I had my mother with me, everything would be okay.

"Get up you useless wrench, bring the kid too. My boss decided that two slaves were worth more than getting back the money your husband owed." The man spat out.

It wasn't okay.

The man ripped me from my mother, and my eyes flew open. My knees hit the floor, and I rolled out. What I saw when my body finished rotating would stay with me forever. My father's face, if you could even call it that. Half of it was blown completely off, grey spilling to the floor, mixed with red blood into a mysterious mush. His remaining eye was pulled open in horrified surprise, that was the last thing he felt before he died. I shakingly lifted my hand, it had landed in the puddle of mush that used to be part of my father. It stuck to my fingers. There was no more time for me to think about it, that dirty hand was clasped by my mothers and I was pulled to my feet.

I got to my feet and looked at my mother. Her beautiful hair was in patches, her tanned skin bloodied, her chocolate eyes deadened. She looked forward and drug me behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hard to try and write this lowkey wanna get past this childhood arc real quick. I have all the stuff I WANT but I don't know how to put it and flesh it out.

I had dreams once.

I wanted to explore space. The idea of discovering new places, beautiful things which had never been seen before had appealed to me. My mother told me stories of explorers from long ago, people who made the first steps out to space. Brave, unique souls who pushed their people forward. I dreamed of being something like that. I thought of space as freedom, maybe even as my future. Never had I thought of space as a trap, but that was now my harsh reality. My last moments on Tatooine were a blur of pain and confusion. Before I had even known what was happening, I was pushed onto a passenger ship with my mother. My hand was still sticky from the fluids which had leaked from my father's cooling body. 

The ship took off, and Tatooine was gone from sight in a blink. 

My mother was holding my hand still, I looked toward her. She was staring forward, her eyes still lifeless and dull. 

"Mama..." I whispered. 

She turned toward me, and that was the first time I saw her react since we were taken away. Slowly, I felt her envelop me in her arms. Her body was shaking. I'd never seen anything like that before, I couldn't help but wonder if she was sick. She pulled back, and her eyes were wet. 

"You're wasting precious water, mama." I scolded childishly. 

There it was, a smile, small, but still present. A smile I craved ever since I first walked into the room, ever since my dad -

"Xenpa..." She sighed out, I couldn't place her tone, but at least her eyes weren't dead anymore. 

She cuddled me into her arms for hours. Time felt like it was crawling by. There was nothing to do with yourself on the ship either. I had counted the bolts on the ceiling at least ten times. Anything to distract myself from what was happening. Not that I even knew what was happening, all I knew was that my father was dead, my mother was in pain, and I couldn't do anything to help. There were other people in the room with us, quietly crying or whimpering. At least ten other people. I couldn't shake the thought that what was going to happen to us was horrible. Everyone seemed to know what was going on, and I was helplessly in the dark. 

Someone entered the cargo hold. 

An unkempt looking man. His hair was greasy, his clothing rumpled, and the skin on his forehead seemed to be peeling off. Likely a result of an untreated sunburn. The truly frightening thing about him was the look on his face. I had never seen someone look so menacing, yet the man was smiling as he spoke, "Well my dear slaves, I've gotten word from the boss. Seems like there's a Sith Lord in need of slaves. You're going to Dromund Kaas, aren't you the lucky bunch." 

Sobs in the background increased. I felt my mother tighten her arms around my waist. 

The man who announced our destination seemed satisfied by the reaction he got and left the room. The door closed behind him with a _click_.

"Mama, what's Dromand Kaas?"

"It's... The capital of the Sith Empire. Our ancestor's fought and died for the Empire once upon a time - Fighting for a better world and future for our family." Mama explained, her voice hesitant, "Or at least that's how the story goes. That's how it works with stories told from the mouth, they get embellished over the years. How ironic if the story is true, that the way we get to Dromund Kaas is as slaves." 

"..." I had no idea what to say, instead, I turned away from my mother and looked at the ceiling. Distracting myself by counting the bolts holding slabs of metal together once more.

_1_

_2_

_3_

* * *

"I've got your new accessories ready for you, slaves! We're nearly to Dromund Kaas." 

My mother let out a gentle sob but stood up like all the others in the room did. I looked around confused as they walked toward the man. I was easily the youngest in the room, now that got a full view of all the others. The first person reached the unkempt man and he pulled out a blinking device. The man fisted the hair of the female in front of him and slipped it onto the back of her neck. Upon release, the woman dropped to her knees, sobbing. Not that the man cared, he kicked her aside and motioned for the next person to come closer. 

I didn't understand.

Why was everyone letting this man hurt them? They weren't fighting back at all! 

We were next. 

My mother let me up, hands on my shoulders. The man bent over and looked me right in the eyes. His breath stunk and his teeth were yellowed, chipped. I glared at the man, but didn't move, just stared at him as he placed the device on my neck. The man noticed my look and glared right back. 

"You have very impudent eyes you little bastard. You'll lose that spark the second your owner uses the collar for the first time. I almost wish I'd be there to see it." 

My mother tugged me behind her, "He doesn't know any better, please ignore him." 

I saw my mother's body jerk as a clapping sound echoed across the room, "Protect the brat while you can bitch, I suspect you'll be serving your new lord in very different ways." 

The device was secured around my mother's neck as well, and the man walked out of the room once more. I looked at my mother and saw her cheek was a flaming red. Not something that was easy to gain, considering my mother's skin was so tanned. It looked like that one time I had an infected bite from a baby womp rat. The whole ship jerked as they made landfall, several people in the room stumbling before they regained their footing. I just followed my mother, not really knowing what else to do. We only just stepped out of the ship when we were met with the sight of a man standing there. He was wearing richly coloured jobs and a mask on his head. There was no way to make out his expression, but I could feel something. That man was _emanating power_ , a power that I'd grown to know was called _The Force_. 

"My name is Lord Qet, I've purchased you for one reason alone, to farther my own power. I have several slaves already working on the project, but you will bolster their efficiency. I am making a statue, and though it is dangerous work, you will either do it or face your death." _Lord Qet_ announced, his arms gesturing through the air, accentuating his points. Nothing made his point more clear than his use of _The Force_ , twisting every word with power, his voice made you want to do what he said. I blinked the influence away without a second thought - Why would I allow his words to get to me? My mother, however, looked forward with blank eyes. 

I realized two things at that moment. My sense of _The Force_ was something rare because I was the only one in the group that seemed completely unaffected. Two, my mother was broken. I could feel several other people shake off the words within a moments time, but my mother? She stared forward with dead eyes. There was only so much a human could take before they broke, and though I had no clue at the time, my mother had reached her limit. She was abused, her husband killed in front of her, her child wetted with her husband's brain matter and blood, and sold into slavery on _Dromund Kaas_ along with her son. Then, on top of that, a Sith Lord was their owner and used the power of The Force on my mothers already weakened mind. Though I didn't actually understand what had happened to my mother, I still knew who was at fault. My eyes swung toward Lord Qet as he looked upon each of his new slaves. I glared at him. 

Before this, I'd never glared at anyone, but Lord Qet got the full effect of my glare. 

A child's glare was nothing to a Lord of the Sith, but the heavy gaze still drew the mans attention. He'd been looking at a young Twi'lekmale but the Lord's eyes swivelled toward mine within the second. 

His mask was gloss black and his eyes were covered in such a way that I couldn't actually make eye contact. That didn't stop me from trying my best as I stared right into were you'd approximate eyes to be. The man didn't break the gaze and _stalked_ forward. There was no sound as he moved, just the silence of a predator on the hunt as he stepped in front of me. I had to look up as far as possible to even keep my eyes on him as he loomed over me, but I managed. 

"You're quite the brave one aren't you," The Lord purred out, and in those bottomless holes that were the lense of his mask, I thought I saw a flash of red iris, "Bow to your new lord child, take the knee before me." 

I didn't so much as move.

"So brave~!" He crooned, a finger sliding itself across my cheek.

I didn't so much as move. 

"Such defiance in those eyes..." He whispered.

I didn't so much as move. 

"I'll take them from you." The lord roared his finger which had been caressing lighting with the force as he ripped it across my face. I could feel burning, all I saw was red. I almost wanted to cry out, to take the knee. I wanted to go back and take his first offer and not stand up to him. Instead, all I felt was pain. My word went from red to black and everything started to fade. No longer was there a roaring man, but returned the gentle crooning from before, "Such a beautiful boy, all too sad you'll die working before you even get a chance to live. All too sad you won't see again, and your last memory will be your willful defiance when you should have just given in..." 

"Let this young man be a lesson for you. You're my property now. I can do with you whatever I want. If that means blinding you than I'll do it. Especially since I find it quite _amusing_." 


End file.
